The Long Wait
by SiriusMarauderFan
Summary: Revised again Dec/10th/2009. Complete. PostHBP. Five years after the second war ended Harry was called away on business, Ginny was left alone with a baby and someone wanted revenge. Eight years have passed. Is it too late to get Ginny back?
1. Chapter 1

**Dedications/Thanks:**

My thanks to my Beta Readers LoonyForMoony and MeucciWarlock.

Dedicated and thanks to serious-writer, who created a wonderful challenge.

Chapter 1:

"Harry, I really wish you didn't have to go," Ginny said, looking across their bedroom at him.

"I know, Ginny, but Minister Scrimgeour trusts me to find Snape," Harry said, opening his suitcase to pack

"I thought they'd given up on searching for him. I mean it's been five years since the war ended and nobody's seen him since."

"Well, the Minister did plan on giving up, but he started getting Howlers because everyone still hates Snape for killing Dumbledore. It's not like it's a big secret anymore with Rita Skeeter being at Dumbledore's funeral. Plus, we just got a tip that he's hiding somewhere in Germany."

"So, why can't I come with you? I'm just as good an Auror as you are."

"Ginny, you heard the Healers; you shouldn't Floo or Apparate for a few months after delivering the baby and it's only been a month."

"I know, I know. But I have this feeling something bad is going to happen. I think it might be Alroy."

"Nothing is wrong with the baby! Listen, everything will be fine. Your mother, Ron, and Hermione already promised to check in on you every day and owl me if something happens, which it _won't_." Harry closed his suitcase and crossed the room to give a quick kiss to his wife and sleeping son before he left.

Five Days Later

Ginny walked down a street in a Muggle town, on her way to meet Luna at a diner. The streets were getting crowded and Ginny was getting close to the diner when she spotted an alley way. The alley was small, but dark as she walked past it.

_I'm glad I brought my wand, _Ginny thought.

Just then she felt a cold hand grab her arm and her wand being pulled from her side pocket. A minute later Ginny was standing in the alley, facing a man dressed all in black including a mask that covered his whole face. The man had a wand pointed at her while he tucked hers in his pocket.

Ginny tried to scream, but the man had used _Silencio_. "I wouldn't try anything, Mrs. Potter, or I'll do more harm to your son than I'm going to do to you," said a familiar voice. Thin ropes then shot out of his wand and wrapped themselves around Ginny. After grabbing hold of her arm again, the man Apparated them both out of the dark alley.

Five Hours Later

"What happened?"

"Some Muggles found her a couple of hours ago in an old warehouse. All we know is that she's unconscious," Hermione said, sitting down next to Harry and patting his back sympathetically.

They were sitting in the corridor of the fourth floor in St. Mungo's. 'Spell Damage' was posted on the door beside them and the entire Weasley family was crammed into the tiny corridor.

A Healer came out of the door suddenly. "Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, is Ginny alright?"

"Mrs. Potter was hit with many hexes and curses—"

"Yes or no?"

"Combined they can be very dangerous," the Healer continued. "I'm sorry to say Mrs. Potter has been sent into a coma."

"What!" cried Harry. "What about the baby?"

"I have him," Mrs. Weasley said, stepping out from the crowd with the baby in her arms. "Ginny wanted me to baby-sit today."

"You can go in now. It might help if you talk to her," the Healer said.

Harry looked back at his in-laws.

"I'll keep them out for you," Hermione whispered with a small smile.

Harry gave her a grateful look before getting up and walking into the room.

Ginny was lying on the bed, her long hair was dirty and ruffled and she was wearing the St. Mungo's nightgown underneath the blankets. Harry looked at her beautiful face, the right eye already black.

He went over to her and sat in the chair beside the bed, picking up her hand and kissing it softly. Harry sat there and cried for twenty minutes before he was able to think clearly.

_I can't do this,_ he thought to himself. _I have a son to raise and in-laws to console. I can't grieve. And it's not like I'll never see her again, I could see her next week for all I know. But it'll be a lonely week without her._

Harry then made a silent vow that no matter what happened he would find the person who did this to his wife and send them to Azkaban. Harry then stood and walked to the door, he looked in the mirror beside it to make sure that no one could tell he'd been crying, took one last look at Ginny and left.

All the Weasleys were still in the corridor and the Healer was now long gone. Hermione, now holding the baby, stood up. "You can all go in," Harry said. "I'll take the baby."

Everyone went into the room except Ron and Hermione. "Harry, while you were in there we were all talking," Ron said, "and if you ever need something you can ask any of us."

"We'd understand if you wanted us to take the baby for a while," Hermione said, carefully.

"Thanks, guys, but he's my responsibility and you two have enough trouble with Rona."

"We can manage--"

"You two go in and see Ginny. We'll be waiting for you out here."

"Are you sure?"

"He's my son, Hermione." And so Ron and Hermione went into the room leaving Harry and the baby alone in the corridor.

The twins soon came out and sat on either side of him. "So, Harry," said the one on the left.

"Did you catch Snape?" finished the other.

"No," Harry muttered, suddenly realizing that it was Snape's fault that Ginny got hurt. Putting the blame on an enemy he'd had for twelve years made Harry feel a little better. And he promised himself he'd make Snape pay.

One week before Alroy's eighth birthday

"Al? Al, are you up yet? It's Sunday!" Harry called up the stairs of the small house he owned. When he heard no reply he climbed the stairs to the second floor. He could hear light snoring coming from the second door on the right. Al's room.

Harry opened the door slowly, pulling out his wand as he did. He looked at the soundly sleeping seven-year-old boy; Harry pointed his wand at the alarm clock on the nightstand, whispered a few words and ran down the stairs so he wouldn't be caught by his son.

A minute later the clock crowed like a rooster and Alroy Potter woke with a jolt, his red hair ruffled and his green eyes still tired. He slid out of bed and turned off the alarm.

He looked around the average sized room that was crowded with gifts from his rather big family, his eyes finally landing on a small picture of his mother on his nightstand.

Alroy got dressed quickly and ran down the stairs toward the smell of eggs, bacon and burnt toast. He walked in the kitchen to find his father toasting bread with his wand while four more pieces sat in the garbage.

"Oh, good morning, Al. I didn't hear you get up," Harry said as he turned around to throw away more toast.

"Morning, Dad. Did you charm my clock, again?"

"Why, Al, I'm shocked that you would think that was me! I already told you that was a badly made clock. I promise to get you a new one next week."

"That's what you said last week."

"But I didn't promise, did I? Now come and eat your breakfast. We have a busy day ahead of us."

"Are we still going to St. Mungo's today?" Al asked sitting down.

"Of course, every Sunday, plus, I thought you might want to visit your cousin Rona."

"Why?"

"Well, I have a lot of shopping to do today."

"Birthday shopping?" Al asked, excitedly.

"Actually, I meant grocery shopping, but I suppose I should start on your presents as well. Your birthday is next month, right?"

"It's next week! And don't forget my list."

"How could I? It took me five hours just to read!" Harry laughed as he ate the last bit of his eggs and cleared the table with his wand.

Fifteen minutes later they were standing on the ground floor of St. Mungo's having just Flooed in.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. A little early for you to be in, isn't it?" asked the Welcome Witch.

"I have a lot to do today, Casey. Can we go straight up?" Harry said, pointing to Al.

"Sure. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are also visiting today."

"Which ones?" Harry asked.

"Let's see," Casey said, as she flipped a few pages on her sign-in sheet. "Mr. R. and Mrs. H. Weasley. Was it alright to let them through, Sir?"

"Of course."

Harry carried Al half way up the stairs and stopped on the second floor to catch his breath. Al sat down on the stairs, looking thoughtful.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked him.

"No, I was just wondering . . . how come Mum never wakes up?"

Harry looked startled by the question. He had never really planned on explaining Ginny's coma to Alroy. Frankly, he'd thought she'd be out of it long before now and Al would never know it happened. He considered the question for a moment and carefully answered.

"Al, do you remember how I told you that mine and your mother's jobs were to catch evil witches and wizards?"

"Yes."

"Well, the person that did this to your mother didn't like what we were doing so he tried to hurt us. That's why she can't wake up, but she will, one day. And she'll come and live in the house with us, which means no more burnt toast and no more climbing four flights of stairs to see her!"

Harry and Al then raced up the rest of the stairs and down the corridor. Harry opened the door to the room and heard Ron and Hermione's voices mixed with someone else's. Harry walked inside and let Al run over to the bed to see his mother. Harry glanced at Ginny before going to talk to the others.

Ginny's hair was still long and straight, only by now it had been cleaned and her nails were manicured just like she had always done them. Both were thanks to Molly and Hermione. The black eye was long gone and she looked as though she was just sleeping now.

Ron called Harry out of his 'Sunday Trance'. "Harry, this is Healer Slater," he said pointing to the older, kind-looking wizard standing across from them.

"Mr. Potter, such an honor to meet you," the Healer put out his hand and Harry shook it.

"Does this have anything to do with my wife?" Harry asked him.

"I'm happy to say it does. You see, a team of Healers in America believe they may have discovered something that can shake people from their comas!" There was suddenly a knock at the door. "Ah! That must be the head Healer on the team."

The Healer opened the door and a woman around Harry's age walked in. Her long, blonde hair was pulled up in a bun and her brown eyes wandered over to Ginny.

"Mr. Potter, this is Healer Dawson."

She walked across the room to them. "It's so nice to meet you, Sir," she said in an American accent.

"Do you really think you can save my wife?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I do, Sir. My team has performed this magic procedure on four people in the last year."

"Were there any complications from the procedure?" Hermione asked.

"Only a little confusion from being in a coma for so long, but it always passes after a month or so. However, there is still a chance of Mrs. Potter becoming paralyzed when she wakes up, this hasn't actually happened yet, but it is possible."

"I'll think about it" Was all that Harry said before he excused himself to go and sit with Al.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Al left fifteen minutes later and went to the Burrow where Molly and Arthur were babysitting Rona and Colleen (Ron and Hermione's nine and five-year-olds, respectively.) They appeared through the fireplace in the kitchen and when all three children had gone to play in the backyard, Harry told the others what Healer Dawson had said.

"We can't make this decision for you, Harry. She's your wife," Arthur said when Harry finished.

"I know, but she's your family too. And I don't want to make a decision me or Ginny will regret later."

"Harry," Ron said, "for almost eight years now you've moped around praying that Ginny would come back, and we've all done the same. You have always known what was best for Al and done your best to raise him on your own."

"So?" Harry said.

"So now your prayers have been answered. You know it would be best for Al if he had a mother and here's your chance to give it to him."

"Ron!" Hermione cried.

"No, Hermione," Harry said, "he's right. I'll tell Healer Dawson to go ahead tomorrow. I should probably get going to Diagon Alley."

And with that Harry said his good-byes and left.

**Author's Notes:**

Please tell me what you think of the story and review.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The next day was Monday. Harry had stopped at St. Mungo's after dropping Al off at the Muggle school he'd been attending for the last year.

"Mr. Potter, is something wrong with Al?" Casey asked worriedly as Harry entered.

"No, Al's fine. But I was wondering if I could see Healer Dawson."

"I think she was headed to see another coma patient on the fourth floor."

Harry walked along the corridor of the fourth floor and caught the Healer coming out of the room across from Ginny's with a quill and clipboard in her hands.

_Must be a new patent of hers_, he thought.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. I didn't expect to see you so soon," the Healer said.

"I know. But I've given what you said a lot of thought, and I think we should go along with it."

"Are you sure, Sir?"

"Positive."

"Then I'm going to need you to sign this form." She turned a few pages on her clipboard and handed it to him along with the quill. Harry read it through (skipping all parts that mentioned the risks) and signed it.

"How long will it be before she wakes up?" he asked.

"It'll take a couple of days for the magic to start working and another few before Mrs. Potter starts reacting to it."

With that, Harry quickly checked on Ginny and left for work.

"Are you going to tell Alroy?" Remus asked him as they sipped their Firewhiskey after Al had gone up to bed that night.

"I don't know. Would it do him any good?" Harry replied.

"At least he would be prepared. He's lived his whole life without a mother. To suddenly have a woman in the house who felt the same way towards him as you do might be a bit of a shock," Remus said, concern sounding in every word.

"He'll be fine. I was."

The week passed by quickly and soon it was Thursday morning. Harry awoke to a tapping on his window and he opened his eyes (his vision rather bleary without his glasses) to see an owl waiting patiently for him.

He opened the window and grabbed the letter. It was a short note from Healer Dawson that simply said:

'She's responding.'

Harry quickly wrote a note to Arthur Weasley (the new Minister of Magic), explaining that he would be taking the rest of the week off; and one to Healer Dawson telling her that he'd be there within the hour. He then got dressed, woke up Al, made cereal for them both and dropped Al off at school, all without saying a word about Ginny.

Harry hurried up the stairs to the fourth floor anxiously, and spotted Healer Dawson waiting for him.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

"She's fine. Just a little confused about what happened to her, but she was asking if you and the baby were alright. I didn't tell her anything except that you were coming. It's your decision whether or not to tell her what year it is. You can go in now," she added noticing Harry eyeing the door.

Harry walked in slowly and closed the door behind him. He looked across to the bed, but it was empty, then he heard a noise to his left and when Harry turned, he saw her.

She was sitting at the vanity they had set up in the corner brushing her long hair.

"Ginny?"

She turned. The brush was half way through her hair, but she dropped it as she suddenly jumped up. "Harry!"

She ran to him and they stood there hugging (an occasional kiss slipping in now and then) for a few minutes before Ginny's legs buckled beneath her. Harry caught her before she fell and he carried her over to the bed.

"The Healers said I shouldn't be walking, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to look like a mess the first time I see you in . . . . what? . . . A week? . . . Month?"

Harry looked down. He never thought ahead.

"Harry? What's wrong?" He gazed up at Ginny; her face was full of concern.

"Ginny, you've been in a coma for almost eight years now," Harry said quietly.

"What!"

"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"What are you talking about? How could it have been your fault?"

"I went to Germany to look for Severus Snape when I should have been here with you. I could have protected you."

"Harry, it was your job to leave. And besides, I blame Snape for this."

Harry smiled at this. To know that not even Ginny blamed him for her eight year memory lapse was a great relief.

"Where's Alroy?" she asked. "I know I left him with Mum when I went to see Luna, but who ever took me threatened to kill him."

"Al's fine. And he sees you every Sunday."

"Has he asked what happened to me yet?"

"Only last week."

"What did you tell him?"

"What I thought, that Death Eaters hurt you for revenge."

"That's what I thought too. Only, I heard the voice of the man that took me."

"Did you recognize it?"

"Yeah, I think it was Draco. I mean it was hard to tell, it'd been six years since I saw him leave Hogwarts, and it was a bit gruff."

Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the morning talking until it was time for Harry to pick up Al from school, so after Harry promised her that he'd write to all of Ginny's family and tell them to come over that afternoon and that he'd be back tomorrow he left her reluctantly, thanked the Healer who had gone down to her office on the ground floor and went to get Al.

Harry returned the next day, his arms full with photo albums to show Ginny. He hadn't told Alroy about her yet and he was starting to see why Remus had warned him. All the Healers that had examined Ginny said she would be able to go home any time. So the next day Harry decided to tell him.

Alroy ran down the stairs. "Where are my presents?" he asked, when he saw the foyer was empty.

Harry smiled. "I thought I told you, the presents are at the Burrow with the party,"

"Great, let's go," Al said, as he grabbed the container of Floo Powder.

"Later. Let's eat first," Harry said, putting the Floo Powder on top of the fridge.

They ate their breakfast quickly and quietly and Harry wasn't surprised when Al asked to go to the party while they were clearing the table. But instead of grabbing the Floo Powder Harry grabbed his son and carried him into the living room.

"Dad, we're going to be late!"

"No, we're not. The party's tomorrow."

"What? But we go to St. Mungo's on Sundays."

"Actually we won't be going to St. Mungo's anymore."

"Why? Are we moving?" Al asked worriedly.

"No, but your mother is," Harry answered with a smirk.

"Where?"

"In here with us."

"She woke up?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"When you were sleeping." Harry chose to leave out 'two days ago'.

"When can I see her?" Al said; the party now at the back of his mind.

"Well we can do it now or later."

"Now!" Al cried, as he jumped off the couch.

"Good, because I didn't want to hide in that broom closet any longer," Ginny said, as she stepped into the room.

Alroy ran over to his mother and jumped into her outstretched arms. Harry made to pull him away before Ginny's legs gave out again, but she stopped him before he got any closer, and instead Harry got the camera.

_The best moment of my life_, he thought as he took the picture.

By the end of the day everyone had cried at least once and they were all tired by nine. So, as Harry put Al to bed Ginny slowly walked up the stairs and into her old bedroom.

Not much had changed in the eight years that had passed since she sat brushing her hair at the vanity in the on suite bathroom before she went to meet Luna in a Muggle diner that dreadful day.

Harry walked up behind her. "Tired?" he asked.

"Yeah. Harry, I'm sorry you had to raise Alroy by yourself."

"I thought we talked about this already, its Snape and Draco's fault. Besides, I had your _whole_ family to help me." He laughed.

They both silently got into their pajamas (Ginny using the pair Harry had bought her the day before.) and got into bed. They talked for a few minutes before turning out the lights. Harry passed out immediately, but Ginny lay awake, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't help feeling a loss, her memory, her baby, her life. All had been altered and she couldn't stand it.

_I'm never going to get over this_, she thought. _I've got to get my life back_.

Author's Notes:

Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Harry woke the next morning and with a smile on his face, as he rolled over—to an empty bed.

"Another damn dream," he mumbled as he got dressed.

He walked across the small corridor to Al's room, but the door was already open and Al wasn't inside. Harry heard Al's laughing coming from the kitchen and the sound of sizzling bacon in a pan.

Harry ran down the stairs, shouting as he did. "Alroy James Potter! I've told you not to fool around in the kitchen!"

But as he ran into the kitchen he found Ginny standing at the stove making eggs, bacon and pancakes with her wand while Al was buttering the toast at the table.

"Forget about me already, Harry?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

"N-no, I was just joking."

"You called me Alroy, you weren't joking," said Al, now setting the table.

"Has he asked about the party yet?" Harry whispered in Ginny's ear.

"No, I gave him chores to do before he could," she replied, grinning.

After breakfast they all Flooed to the Burrow. The house was decorated with red and gold streamers, balloons and banners which flashed different sayings for both Al and Ginny. And since there was so little furniture and so many people everybody simply stood and shouted "Surprise!" when Al stumbled out of the fireplace.

Surprisingly, all of the Weasleys had made time in their now-busy schedules to come to the party, Neville and Luna had come from the Quibbler head offices in Liverpool, Remus and Tonks made a small appearance, and the whole house was overrun with children.

The party continued for hours with everyone going back and forth between welcoming Ginny back, congratulating Harry on making the right decision and watching Al open his presents.

It took Harry, Ginny and Ron three trips by Apparation to get all of Al's presents to his room - he had gotten everything on his list including five bags of candy from the twins, dragon hide boots and gloves from Bill and a Snowflake racing broom from Harry and Ginny.

Later

"I told Tonks I want to go back to work tomorrow," Ginny said to Harry as they got into bed.

"Ginny, you're still getting better," Harry said. "I don't think you should be going anywhere on a regular basis for a couple of months, at least."

"A couple of months! Harry, I don't need to be quarantined for the dragon pox," Ginny protested.

"I know, but still, you haven't worked for eight years, and going back to being an Auror after only four days might be worse for your health than if you had just stayed in bed a little longer."

Ginny stayed quiet for a minute, thinking. "Harry, I know this is going to sound crazy, but . . . I feel like something is missing from my life."

"Well, of course you do. It's only been three days. Please, Ginny. Just stay at home for a month."

"Fine, but if I still feel like this in a month I'm going back to work."

Each day was as perfect for Harry as the last. Breakfast was ready by the time he always got up and he got to work on time since Ginny was now taking Al to school. And it was easy for Harry to get used to it; coming home at seven, spending time with Al, eating dinner and talking to Ginny when Al went to bed.

The weeks passed quickly and Harry noticed Ginny smiling and laughing with each passing day.

_It's passed,_ he thought. _She's not going back to work!_

It's not that Harry was old-fashioned and wanted his wife to stay home and cook and clean all the time, but he knew it would be safer for Ginny, better for Al and he would be able to get to work on-time as well.

Harry came home one Tuesday to find the house dark and quiet. Then he saw light flickering in the living room. He walked in to find Ginny lighting candles on the coffee table. She was wearing nothing but red lingerie with gold trim. Harry recognized it from their honeymoon in Ireland.

"Happy Anniversary," Ginny said, turning around to face Harry. "I figured we could skip dinner tonight. What do you think?"

"I think I should ask where our son is," Harry replied.

"He's staying over at Ron and Hermione's tonight. Yes or no?"

"If you're ready," was all he said before waving his wand to extinguish the candles and follow Ginny up the stairs to their bedroom.

The next week passed as quickly as the others had and soon it was the last Sunday of the month.

Harry was sitting on the couch in the living room reading the evening_ Prophet_ while Ginny did the dishes the 'Muggle way', only a half-hour after Al had gone to bed. Ginny came out when she was finished and sat down next to Harry.

"Harry, I sent Tonks another note. I'm to going work with you tomorrow," she said it quietly, but he caught every word.

"What?"

"It's been a month, Harry. I haven't felt any side effects from the healing, and I'm completely used to everything. But I still feel like I'm missing something."

"Well, it's nothing you're going to find by chasing murderers again."

"Maybe it is, it's like playing Beater in a game of Quidditch and forgetting your bat, you know something is wrong, but you can't figure it out. I think I just need things back to how they used to be, with me working. And even if it doesn't work at least it'll keep my mind off of thinking of what could be wrong."

"And what about Al? Who's going to pick him up from school and take care of him while we're at work?"

"I'll work part-time. Plus with the extra money we can buy a bigger house."

"We don't need the extra money or the bigger house." Harry sighed. "There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?"

"Not really. But thanks for caring," she said as she leaned over to give him a kiss.

Ginny finally went back to work the next day. Kingsley Shacklebolt, she discovered, was now the Head of the Auror Headquarters. He kindly welcomed her back while giving her a tour of the updated offices. And when he noticed she was a bit more relaxed he sent her straight to work at a desk, annoyingly close to Harry.

"Have you found the 'bat' yet?" he asked her for the tenth time that day.

"Not with you asking me every five minutes," she said, exasperated as she got ready to leave. "I thought you said I'd barely see you."

"No, I said you'd barely miss me."

"Well, this isn't going to help anything. We never worked this close before."

"You never worked at a desk job before either, but I don't hear you complaining about that."

"Of course not. Kingsley's not going to send me into the field on my first day back. It'll probably take a few months before I can go back. And until those few months are over I never want to work this close to you again. Do I make myself clear?" Ginny said, giving him a stern look.

"Oh, fine. You should get going if you're going to pick Al up from school."

The next day Harry moved as far across the room as he could. He had switched places with a kind, elderly witch, who graciously agreed to keep an eye on Ginny for him. And after a week it began to get a bit easier for Harry not to take little walks around the offices.

Ginny was in charge of reading the notes that came in every morning. The 'tips' were normally about people who were either dead, in Azkaban or did such trivial things that they weren't that important for the Aurors to catch right now.

She went through over a hundred tips a day, sending the few she thought were genuine to Kingsley, who would then sort them out to the Aurors assigned to the respective cases. But no matter how many real tips she gave to Kingsley, Ginny still felt something was missing.

"Maybe its Malfoy," suggested Hermione as they had tea that Saturday while Harry and Ron played a less dangerous game of Quidditch with the children outside.

"Malfoy? I think my life is better _without_ him."

"I didn't mean that. Maybe the reason you feel like this is because he put you in that coma and your worried because he's not locked up—or dead," Hermione added hastily.

Ginny found herself dwelling unnecessarily on this thought for the rest of the week.

_Another annoying thought,_ she said to herself.

It was possible, of course, but for some reason she didn't believe it. She hadn't thought of Draco since she had started working again. And even then it wasn't fear or worry. She had nothing to fear or worry about except Harry and Al.

Al. That was the problem, she missed him growing up. She missed his first word, first steps, first everything. And that was because of Malfoy.

_That's what's missing, _Ginny thought, awakened in the middle of the night after having one of her secret nightmares. _Revenge._

Ginny worked as hard as any other employee in the Auror offices that week. She was now opening more than two hundred tips a day.

_I've got to keep looking, _she told herself as she worked.

Harry had noticed a change in her.

"She looks happier going to work than she does coming home," he told Ron. They were picking up owl treats at Eeylop's while Ginny, Alroy and Rona window-shopped in Quality Quidditch Supplies and Hermione had taken Colleen to Flourish and Blott's.

"That's nothing," Ron said, putting three Galleons on the counter for the clerk. "Hermione was like that after she had Rona _and_ Colleen. She said something about it being 'a sense of accomplishment'. I wouldn't worry about it; she'll be begging for days off before you know it."

But Harry soon realized how wrong Ron was. He saw the bags under Ginny's eyes when they were making breakfast the next morning, and couldn't stand by any longer.

"Are you sleeping well?" he asked her.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" she answered quickly, thinking Harry had somehow found out about the nightmares, which had become more frequent and were now keeping her up at night.

"I think you should relax for a few days, Ginny. Maybe take a week off, you're working too hard."

"I know, but we're getting more tips and. . .er . . . we're short a couple of people. I have to work harder to—keep my job," Ginny lied. She couldn't handle telling Harry the truth right now; he was already over-protective of her.

_He would only be worse if I told him that I'm in search of a Death Eater, _she thought.

But even though Ginny worked harder the next week nothing surfaced, not one tip on Draco Malfoy.

Finally Harry asked Kingsley to order Ginny home for a while. If not to sleep and rest, then to spend time with her husband and son.

_It's no good,_ Ginny said for the fifth time that first night alone. She couldn't sleep anymore and on top of it all her back was killing her all the time.

"It's from those damn office chairs," Harry had said two days later when he saw Ginny lie down on the bed and firmly press her back into the mattress.

Ginny went back to work after three days of awful silence while Harry was working and Al was at school.

Then it came. It looked as plain as any other tip, but Ginny knew it was different before opening it, she could sence it. It took her a minute to register what it said before she stood up and speed-walked to Kingsley's office.

Ginny went into the surprisingly large room, walked over to the desk Kingsley was seated at and, before the door had time to slam shut, threw the small piece of paper on his desk and said calmly:

"Liverpool."

"What?"

"He's in Liverpool."

"Who is? Harry? I told him to stay at his desk for a couple of days."

"Just read the note."

Kingsley grabbed the paper and read it quickly.

"I'll send someone over right now," he said a minute later.

"May I suggest someone, Sir?"

"Ginny, I think Harry would be a really bad choice for this job."

"Actually, I was talking about me."

"You? But you just came back to work. Besides, I promised Harry-"

"You did what!"

"I had to. He threatened to quit and you know better than I do that Harry, Tonks and I are the best Aurors that we have right now. I'm sorry, but I can't afford to lose anyone. Especially not The Boy Who Lived."

"I understand. Just don't tell Harry about this case. Will you? I don't want him to worry about me."

"Sure. Don't worry about Malfoy, though. I'll send Tonks over with a few others."

"Thanks, Kingsley. But I do expect to go back into the field by next month," Ginny said, a determined look on her face.

"We'll see. Just get some rest and keep giving me the good tips." He laughed before escorting her out and calling Tonks and two Aurors that Ginny didn't recognize into his office.

Ginny thought about Draco for the rest of the day, which really wasn't that much of a change now. But by the time she was getting ready for bed she had already been late picking Al up from school, burnt dinner and nearly slipped while getting out of the bath.

_I can't let them catch him, _she said, getting out of bed at three in the morning and having a cup of tea to calm her nerves from the nightmare. _All they'll do is disarm him and lock him up in Azkaban. I've got to get to him first. Harry won't like it, but these feelings and nightmares won't pass until I do._

Author's Notes:

Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The next day Ginny explained to Harry that her back was getting worse and that she wouldn't be able to take Al to school since she'd have to walk him all the way. Harry, naturally, agreed to do it and offered to take the day off to take care of her. Ginny declined, saying it was better that he didn't see her in pain.

_It's not as if I'm lying to him, _Ginny reasoned when Harry left the bedroom, _my back really _is _hurting, but he'll understand why I had to lie – if I tell him._

Hearing the door snap shut behind Harry, Ginny grabbed a backpack from their closet. It was a small bag; one Ginny had had since she started Hogwarts. It was blue and a Golden Snitch flew continuously about its surface.

After enlarging the inside of the bag and turning it a plain black, she started filling it with bottles of water and bags of crisps. Ginny changed into a t-shirt and jeans and after ensuring all the doors and windows were locked, she left a note for Harry and Al and Apparated to just outside the Quibbler head offices in Liverpool. It was a worker from the Quibbler that had spotted Malfoy, after all.

"Ginny, we're home!" Harry called out when he and Al walked in the house at three. "Ginny?" He hadn't exactly expected her to come running down the stairs, but a simple 'hello' would've done.

"Dad, I don't think she's here," Al called from the living room.

"Of course she is. She's probably just sleeping," Harry said. Then Al came running to Harry, holding the note:

_Dear Harry and Alroy,_

_I'm sorry if I scared you by not being there, but I couldn't wait any longer._

_There's something I have to do; it should take more than a week. Please don't_

_worry or come looking for m;, I'll be back soon. I love you both._

_All my love,_

_Ginny_

The following morning, Harry told Kingsley not to expect Ginny in for a while and (since he wouldn't believe it was a vacation) went on to explain the note she'd left. Kingsley, upon learning what had happened, decided it would be best to tell Harry about the tip. At least then he'd know what Ginny was doing. Harry immediately took a leave of absence and decided to go and look for Ginny himself.

"What do you mean she's missing!" asked Ron when Harry dropped Al off at his and Hermione's house.

"I didn't say she was missing, Ron. I just said that she's going to be gone for a little while. Now can you two take care of Al until I get back or not?"

"Harry, you shouldn't go. Tonks and the others can handle looking for her _and_ Malfoy, you know," Hermione said.

But Harry didn't care; he had to look for her. He couldn't lose her again. But a week went by and although four well-trained Aurors were out looking for Ginny and Draco, they couldn't find either one.

But Ginny had expected to be tracked. She hid in all the alleyways and old, rundown wizarding hangouts, everywhere she knew they would never suspect her to be and everywhere she thought she would run into Draco.

Finally, as Ginny was walking down a sparsely crowded street with the hood up on a cloak she'd transfigured a leaf into, she saw it. She may not have remembered much about the night Draco took her, even now, but as she looked at the old warehouse she wondered how she could have forgotten it.

She looked around her; everything seemed familiar now. Ginny hurried across the street and to the doors of the warehouse, shedding the cloak and backpack as she did. She dropped them at the door, grabbed her wand, opened the door and entered quickly.

At a time like this, when Ginny felt as though she was being possessed by her obsession it wasn't hard to understand why Ginny didn't see the four Aurors looking at her from across the street.

"Why is she going in there?" asked Blaine, a new Auror.

"That's where the Muggles found her last time," said Harry, who had met up with the others the day before. "She told me she didn't remember where it was though."

As they started to approach the warehouse they could hear noises coming from inside. Tonks opened the doors quickly and ran in after the others. There they found both Ginny _and_ Draco.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco shouted. Ginny dove to her left to avoid being hit, but her wand was tossed across the room as the spell slammed into her ankle.

"You shouldn't have come," she whispered to Harry when he caught her.

"Well, well, well. I take it you came for revenge too, Potter?" sneered Draco. Harry looked down at Ginny; her teeth were clenched and she was holding her ankle while trying to stand up.

"Watch her," he said to Tonks before running forward to duel with Draco. Blaine and the Auror that Harry didn't know followed suit.

"Three against one? And here I thought you were a Gryffindor, Potter." Draco smirked.

"Back off," Harry told the others.

"But, Mr. Potter-" objected Blaine.

"I said, back off!" They stumbled back to where Tonks was holding a struggling Ginny down.

"Any last requests, Potter?" Harry thought for a moment, his eyes never leaving Draco's face and wand.

"Just one question. Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Take Ginny. You could've gotten a reduced sentence in Azkaban. Not that you really deserved a reduced one, but you never did anything wrong until you took her."

"I did it for the same reason she tracked me down – revenge."

Harry was puzzled momentarily. "Revenge for what? Killing Voldemort?" he guessed. Draco rolled his eyes.

"No, you idiot! You're the reason my father was put in Azkaban; you're the reason my mother died alone. I thought you should know how it felt. I did intend to kill her – and your little brat as well, unfortunately those bloody Muggles were unlocking the doors and I had to leave."

"Well, it's too late to do it now. Even if you kill me you'll still have to get through three Aurors to get to Ginny."

"I don't think so," Draco said he then snapped his fingers and three men came out of the shadows. Harry recognized them as Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini. He hadn't seen them since the end of his seventh year at Hogwarts, but Harry had heard rumors of the shady things they'd been doing;

"I thought it would be useful to get some recruits," Draco said.

His three henchmen went to work quickly. The Aurors left Ginny lying helplessly on the floor with a broken ankle and her wandless thanks to Draco's spell.

_Now's my chance,_ Ginny thought and she started to crawl across the room to her wand.

The unknown Auror was the first to be knocked out by Goyle and Tonks made sure to make a quick motion with her wand at the criminal while ducking from a hex Zabini had thrown at her.

_Three versus three,_ Ginny counted silently as she kept crawling; her ankle paining her more and more as she got closer to the wall against which her wand lay.

Harry and Draco were still going strong, neither showing any sign of weakness. Blaine finally took out Crabbe with a leg paralyzing charm, and Zabini (while Tonks dodged another hex) knocked Blaine out with the Incarcerous charm. Tonks took advantage of the opening to do the same to Zabini

_Two against one,_ Ginny thought.

But as Tonks made her way to help Harry she collapsed from exhaustion.

"Now," Draco said, "it's just you and me."

"I don't think so, Malfoy," Ginny said. She was leaning against the wall, wand in hand. Draco was frozen from shock and couldn't react.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Harry and Ginny, in unison. Draco was thrown against a wall, disarmed.

"Accio wand!" said Ginny and Draco's wand flew into her hand.

Harry had been planning what he'd do if he saw Draco again and in a second Levicorpus popped into his mind. Draco dangled ten feet in the air, yelling at Harry and Ginny as they laughed. Suddenly twenty Aurors, including Kingsley, Apparated into the warehouse.

"Let him go, Harry," said Kingsley. Harry sighed, thinking Liberacorpus and Draco fell to the concrete floor.

The next day

Ginny was lying in the hospital bed of her old room in St. Mungo's for minor spell damage while reading a book when Harry walked in with a bouquet of white roses. He sat down beside her.

"Is he in Azkaban?" she asked putting the book on her nightstand.

"Not yet, he's being looked at for mental injury from the fall. If he wasn't affected then he'll be going into a high security cell in Azkaban. By the way, Al and your _whole_ family are waiting outside to see you. I'll just let them in," Harry said rising from his chair.

"No, Harry. I have to talk to you," Ginny said looking urgent.

"Ginny, its fine. I understand why you went after Malfoy; I would've done the same thing. And I'm sorry I was over-protective. I just hope, now that he's gone, you don't feel like you're missing anything."

"Actually, Harry, that's the first thing I wanted to tell you . . . I still feel that way."

"Oh, the first?"

"Yes, the second is that I . . . er . . . I'm pregnant!"

"What! That's wonderful! But you're going to have to go back to work when you're feeling better; we're going to need that bigger house now." They both laughed and waited a bit longer before opening to the crowd of Weasleys, Lupins and Longbottoms (plus one little Potter) and told them all the good news.

Eight months and one week later

Ginny sat rocking her baby daughter in the moon-lit nursery of their new, large house. She listened contentedly to the snoring coming from her husband and son in the rooms across the hall and looked down at the sleeping child.

"Rachel Lily Potter," she whispered to her, "I hope you like Quidditch."

She then glanced at the other side of the room which held drawers full of tiny jerseys, the stuffed Snitches, Bludgers and Quaffles that were bigger than the baby and walls covered in posters and pennants. And then she felt it.

_This is what I've been missing. _

Author's Notes:

Please review and tell me what you think of the story as well as if you'd like to see a sequel.


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